EWC EXPRESS www.ewc.co.za
2 LOGISTICS EWC Express 2 EWC EXPRESS Delivering on a promise
AUGUST 2010 The African Business Journal 3 LOGISTICS
4 LOGISTICS EWC Express Every day, EWC Express, one of South Africa s best and most reputable logistics teams, is depended upon by South African companies from all industries to deliver and transport their products on time. And every day, EWC Express is delivering on that promise and more. They are all that one expects from a logistics company: reliable, dedicated and thorough. The company offer a comprehensive range of services from domestic and international document courier to air, sea, and land freight, customs clearing, warehousing and retail distribution. But one thing you might not expect from a logistics business is the integral role EWC Express plays in the South African movie and music industry. 21 years ago, the company started off with offices in a few major centres such as Johannesburg and Cape Town. Once the company was off and running, EMI, only the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the industry, took notice and approached the EWC Express team.
AUGUST 2010 The African Business Journal 5
6 LOGISTICS EWC Express EMI had a problem that EWC Express could solve. EMI was looking to reduce the waiting time for delivery of its music products to customers in rural and outlying areas, the customer who had a music shop and order a DVD from EMI and then wait a week to two weeks, recalls EWC Express Operations Director, Vernon Rawstorne. Music distribution EMI was impressed by our Just in Time delivery promise, says Rawstorne, whereby if someone had an order before 2pm it would be delivered the following day. EWC Express literally took off from there. EMC Express now distributes 70 to 75 per cent of products for the music industry based on sale of CDs and DVDs to most music shops and distributors in Southern Africa. EXC Express also does distribution for the video industry and supplies all the video shops in the country in the domestic market. Rawstorne admits it is wide range. There are a lot of things we do on a daily basis, and we use technology and a brilliant team to manage it all, 24/7. and have a global presence through extensive global network associations in the UK, the US, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, the Far East and 120 other countries. Today, EWC Express is never closed, operating every hour of the 365 days in the year. With a fleet of over 80 vehicles of differing payloads, from 15 metre trailers, 14-ton closed trucks to 1-ton vans, the company is one of the very few few express companies operating in South Africa to have their own In-Transit Courier facilities at Johannesburg International Airport. Despite an unrivalled courier system, Rawstorne and his team realise that there is one thing that supersedes even that: a vital connection to its customers and a focus on services their needs. At the end of the day, our success comes down to our service. That is why most of our clients stay with us for over 19 years. They like the reliability we can give them info when their parcels are delivered we have 100 per cent Track and Trace live reporting. It s about the service we give them after it goes off the carrier. Extensive network EWC Express has not turned back since, continuing the upward trajectory that characterised its start. The company now has offices and agents in throughout Southern Africa, Technology The Parcel Track and Trace Rawstorne speaks about is part of the operational expertise of the company, which is supported by state-of-theart technology that can monitor and enhances
AUGUST 2010 The African Business Journal service levels to the maximum. EXPRESS AIR EXPRESS every kilo counts AIR every kilo counts The advanced service and parcel management systems enable us to provide clients with a variety of reports, ensuring that all their logistical requirements are met. In addition, clients can log in on our website and not only Represented at 27 key African destinations in 12 Countries and expanding! view and print images of goods, but also are able to track shipments at anytime, says Rawstorne. It s a phenomenal service, he adds. EWC Express is growing every year. Rawstorne sees the continued upward trajectory of the company as fantastic. And at press time, EWC Express is in the very final stages of a ETHIOPIA launching a deal that we will happily report to you SUDAN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC in the future. But for now, suffice it to say that Juba CAMAROON BON 7 SOMALIA UGANDA EWC Express will be expanding quite aggressively KENYA Kampala Entebbe CONGO Nairobi RWANDA Kigali over the next couple of years. Kilimanjaro BURUNDI Mwanza Rawstorne s vision is for the company to a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO Zanzibar TANZANIA national footprint in this country and an even Dar es Salaam Mfuwe greater distribution network. I like to say once a COMORES Solwezi ZAMBIA ANGOLA MALAWI Ndola parcel is given to me it does not leave my hands MOZAMBIQUE Lusaka Livingstone until it is delivered to you, he says. And that is MADAGASCAR Harare Victoria Falls NAMIBIA Vilanculos ZIMBABWE Bulawayo MAURITIUS BOTSWANA exactly what we are driving to. TAB Windhoek Johannesburg ewc.co.za Durban SOUTH AFRICA East London Cape Town George Port Elizabeth www.expressair.co.za
AS SEEN IN THE AUGUST 2010 ISSUE OF THE AFRICAN BUSINESS JOURNAL